On a Vampire's Honor
by Stohne Rohse
Summary: A family of Vampires known as the Bitebark Clan is about to come into a full collision with the Glade of Dreams. Athier the Younger, a vampire who is known for his peaceful approaches, comes into contact with Rayman and his friends and is torn between two worlds. Will he embrace his nature, or save his friends? T for violence. DISCLAIMER IN FIRST CHAPTER.
1. The Vampires: Rutwik's Death

**_I, Stohne Rohse, pledge that in no way am I claiming ownership, nor that I created the characters RAYMAN, MR. DARK, FLAMING TEENSY, WIZARD TEENSY, GLOBTEEN, TEENSY RAY, GLAMBROX, RAYMESIS, GLOBOX, GRAND MINIMUS, POLOKUS/BUBBLE DREAMER in this story. I will never attempt to claim any monetary value nor financial gain from this story. My purpose for these stories is for writing practice in a peer-reviewed environment and for the enjoyment of the fans and users of this site only._**

A broken and thin shape lay upon the forest floor within the late hours. He was adorned in a once beautiful, now tattered black cape from which small, crumpled wings protruded. Two other very lean shapes stood nearby the broken body of the figure, both wearing capes and both bearing wings on their backs.

"Dinok morphis yulrefu ghylor." whispered the broken figure with a hoarse voice throughout the darkness, echoing across the forest floor shaded from the moon by the tall trees.

"What's he saying? What's going on?" questioned a younger, healthier sounding voice emanating from the shorter, standing figure.

"He's dying." answered the other standing figure.

"R-Rutwik? He's dying? But why?" asked the youngest voice, cracked with shock and grief.

"Age and starvation. He's saying his last worries out loud in tome. A Bitebark's tradition that you shall understand when you come of age, Athier." The voice responded grimly.

Athier sighed, his long ears drooping. "Oh, Sbarhi...His time has come too soon. His death will be only shortly after Duclos and Basile. The two had such high hopes we were going to find a new home, where none more would die of starvation. Perhaps his grief is one in taking his life." Sbarhi's sightless eyes clouded with angst at the mention of the two other names.

"Yes. They died upon the road. We hope they died with honor despite the hasty doom. T'was not their time to die." Sbarhi spoke, his voice wavering slightly.

Athier nodded. "We have lost many. The Bitebark family is dwindling quickly. Our clan's blood...It will become extinct." Sbarhi snapped his blind gaze upon Athier so quickly it forced him to flinch.

"Do not say such things, Athier! Our order will not die! Our mother Susanne will not stand for it!" Sbarhi hissed, his cracked fangs glistening despite the light deprivation.

"I understand...I apologize, Sbarhi." Athier nodded respectively. Sbarhi remained in the hostile stance a few moments longer before his ears twitched and he settled down.

"Orav gyrlo uryor...revorlsan..." Rutwik sighed with his last breath and all light was drained from his pale skin.

"T'is done. Rutwik is with the moons now." Sbarhi whispered, bowing his head.

"Rutwik...Your death will not be in vain. Rest in peace." Athier whispered with a shaky voice. The two mourned for a few moments longer before Sbarhi rose slightly.

"Come. We must catch up with the rest of the family." Sbarhi croaked before becoming a purple plume of smoke and reemerging as a bat, flapping about in the dark. Athier nodded and did the same, becoming a smaller bat with longer ears.

Sbarhi nodded in the direction the colony went before taking off into the night. Athier followed, just a few wingbeats behind. "What are we to do? It's been nearly a month, and we haven't found a suitable home. More and more of our family are dying and our clan is ravaged with disease and famine, and it seems like there is nothing we can do." Athier gasped as he beat his wings to catch up with Sbarhi.

"I-I don't know...But nonetheless, mother Susanne will find somewhere. I-I don't want to talk about it. Let an old vampire mourn in peace, will you?" Sbarhi whispered, his blind eyes staring straight ahead. Athier did not respond, but rather caught wind of his sister, Nastasi the Sturdy. He even found Scurl's scent on the wind as well. That bastard! He didn't lament for any of the clan's fallen. He was too wrapped up in looking at himself in the mirror to care that his own cousin, Basile Foul-Cheat had died. Athier missed him. He always managed to keep optimistic, even in light of what the Bitebark Clan had suffered. He died, and Scurl barely noticed. Then Athier realized that in his fuming, he had fallen behind, and his sister's scent was further away.

Athier sped up his wingbeats in an attempt to reach her, and fit himself back into the brood. Eventually, he saw them. The fairly small group of bats flapping in the dark at a steady pace, travelling somewhere that they did not know where. In the group of bats, his sister's scent became masked by the scents of the rest of his family. Athier would have to rely on his sight and hearing to find them now. Athier swiveled his long ears in every direction while his red, slit eyes scanned the horizon.

"Brother!" called out a voice, reaching across the night to Athier's ears. Nastasi. Athier thought, averting his gaze towards where the voice had come from. Across the sky, past the rest of the brood, he saw his sister as well as Scurl hovering and looking right at him. Athier let his ears relax as he glided towards them, happy to see his close family again.

"Brother, did you fall behind? The rest of the clan had to move on, and we had no idea where you had gone." Nastasi spoke, false authority ringing in her voice.

His older sister was one of the stronger Vampires in the family. She didn't look too different from the rest of the clan in bat form, but in her true form, she was quite impressive.

"Athier the Younger. Why, hello, there." Scurl spoke with his smooth voice. Athier shot him a glare. It was no surprise that even in bat form, Scurl the Grand wore a white fur coat that undoubtedly covered his extremely slim stature. Everyone knew that Scurl was the most underfed, malnourished Vampire in the family, but the stuck-up bat liked to believe they didn't.

Scurl smiled narcissistically. "You're looking younger than usual, friend. Someone cast a spell on you?" He said, amused with himself. Athier growled. "I was just talking to your darling sister here. Telling her all about how Mother has supposedly found somewhere that...just might pique your interest..." Scurl paused in the middle of speaking to run a black tongue over his lips.

"W-what? Sister, what is he going on about?" Athier growled, glancing at Nastasi questioningly.

"I don't know, he's been talking like that since he came over here." Nastasi replied, sharing Athier's displeasure with being around Scurl. Scurl's mood immediately changed and his grin became a frown.

"Then perhaps you shall speak with Mother. She will be the one who knows. Apparently young Vampires like you are too imperceptive to understand." Scurl huffed before flapping off, obviously thrown off balance by his coat, to join his brother, Skron across the colony.

"I hate that self-absorbed worm." Nastasi grumbled.

"Perhaps he is right. We should go speak with Mother Susanne. I hope to hear of this new land. Perhaps t'will be suitable for our home?" Athier said, glancing at his sister. Nastasi returned his gaze.

"Perhaps. We shall. Follow me, she's at the head of the colony." Nastasi said, nuzzling her brother's nose with her own before flapping off. Athier began to follow, but before he gave chase, he glanced backwards at where he left the body of his distant cousin and dear friend, Rutwik.

"We'll fulfill your yearning of a new home, Rutwik. I avow it. On a Vampire's honor."


	2. The Glade: Bitten at Breakfast time

"Hello, hello, hello! Everyone, get up! It's that time of day again!" Shouted Rayman as he ran through the halls of the Snoring Tree with Globox, waking everyone who was trying to sleep in. "Let's get some eats!" Rayman cried as he entered a room, banging on the wall with a fist, then quickly dashed out, Globox close behind.

"Oh, yeah! You know it, Ray!" Cried a regal looking Teensy wearing a green and yellow king coat and gold crown. "Grand Minimus is up! C'mon, my Teensy subjects! Up and at 'em!" Yelled Grand Minimus. Almost instantaneously, the halls were filled with Teensies, rushing to the food court.

"I'm gonna get me some chili!" Growled Flaming Teensy mischievously.

"You're going to eat chili for breakfast? Why?" Asked Globteen, the ultimate Globox fan.

"A better question for you, my obsessive friend, is why not?" Flaming Teensy questioned before cackling and running off. Globteen and his friend Teensy Ray exchanged puzzled glances in response.

"That's it, guys! Let's get some grub!" Rayman shouted, his voice echoing throughout the food court. Inside were all of Rayman's brothers, Raybox, Raymolk, Raymesis, and Sir Rayelot. All of Globox's cousins were there as well as every single Teensy that lived in the Snoring Tree. At the front of the court sat Polokus, or more friendlily known as Bubble Dreamer.

"My friends, my beautiful friends. Welcome. As you all know, it is that time of day again..." Polokus began slowly. An uproar of cheers was brought up in response. "Breakfast! Dig in, friends!" Polokus smiled, blowing a single bubble from his bubble pipe.

"YEAH!" Cried the crowd of Teensies in unison with the Rayman and Globox look-alikes.

"So, how's things going with your cousins, Glo?" Rayman asked before biting into an hourglass-shaped fruit.

"Oh, fine. Glambrox is being a jerk again, but whadda ya gonna do, huh?" Globox responded, shaking his head.

"Oh." Rayman said through a mouthful. "So is Raymesis. Guess it's just in their nature. But dang. It's been a long time since anything happened here in the Glade, huh." Rayman said, swallowing.

"What?"

"I mean like, since we got rid of the Dark Teensies, it's been real quiet around here. We should go out and do something. Something fun. Something adventurous." Rayman explained.

"Um, sure. But, not until tomorrow. I have to take care of the Globlings. It's my turn this week." Globox sighed, drooping slightly.

"No problem, bud. Anyways, I'll be out around the tree this afternoon if you need me." Rayman said, standing up and taking his half eaten fruit with him.

"See ya, Ray." Globox said, shoving three large fruits into his mouth at once.

Letting out a happy sigh, Rayman finished the rest of his fruit before taking a small hop down a flight of stairs and into the hall to find someone to hang out with for the rest of the afternoon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

RAYMESIS AND MR. DARK

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Grrr! I can't believe this! You interrupted breakfast and brought me out here in the middle of the jungle for no good reason! What are you even still doing around here? I'm not with the bad guys anymore, don't you and your freaky friends know that already?" Raymesis growled, as he followed close behind an extremely wary Mr. Dark who darted behind every tree in a sneaky manor. "Don't you ever say anything?" Raymesis sneered, glowering at Mr. Dark. In an instant, Mr. Dark dashed backwards next to Raymesis, and stuck one hand over his mouth, and used the other to stroke Raymesis' head, as if he was pleading for the Rayman twin to be quiet.

Raymesis in response let out a muffled sigh of compliance. Mr. Dark then dashed away from Raymesis and went back to his cautious steps. "Where are we even going?" Raymesis questioned in a much quieter tone. Mr. Dark froze, then pointed upwards at a mountain at the very border of the jungle into the Mystical Pique mountains. "Okay, so a mountain. What does that have to do with anything?" Raymesis huffed, tapping one foot on the ground.

Mr. Dark paused a moment, then gestured for Raymesis to follow him. Then, the mysterious being in the black-as-night cape began to climb the mountain, heading towards a cave at the very top. Raymesis let out a very unhappy groan, then began to pursue up the mountain. Mr. Dark expertly climbed, dodging around unfastened rocks or fall hazards, not looking down to check on Raymesis' progress. Raymesis, on the other hand, struggled, often grabbing hold of loose rocks then having to take hold of a steady rock quickly to avoid plummeting to the ground. After what seemed like a lifetime, Raymesis reached the cave, and Mr. Dark was already standing inside. "Okay, so now what, Mr. Genius? Wanna go extinguish the sun?" Raymesis snarled. Without warning, Mr. Dark snapped his hand over Raymesis' mouth once again, and pointed straight ahead. Laying all across the floor, sleeping soundly where a large group of twig-slim, pale-skinned, bat-winged, long-eared, cape-wearing vampires.

Raymesis' yellow eyes went wide at the sight of them. By count there were five laying on the floor, fast asleep, plus the six bats on the ceiling that were also vampires. "W-what are they doing here?" Raymesis asked, his voice beginning to shake. Mr. Dark approached the mouth of the cave and pointed at the sun, which was nearing the horizon, then gestured towards the Snoring Tree in the distance and the entire jungle. "O-oh." Raymesis whispered, feeling his body go weak.

The two were too busy to notice that a pair of glinting, red slit eyes had opened and were peering curiously at the two creatures that had wandered into their cave. The creature soundlessly rose up from the cave floor. He had a mop of ruffled hair from which two long ears protruded and stuck out awkwardly. His cape was shiny and black, and one of his small wings was upside-down. He watched for a few moments longer before the look in his eyes turned from curiosity to appetite. A grin slowly creased onto the face of the young vampire and he crept towards the two, his claw-like fingers curled demonically.

Mr. Dark froze.

"What? What is it?" Raymesis asked, before feeling a hot breath on the back of his head. Raymesis slowly turned his head and saw the gaping mouth with two fangs at the top of the jaw. Acting quick, Raymesis managed to get away from the vampire, hearing it's jaws snap just where his head was. To Raymesis' dismay, the vampire moved a lot quicker than he thought, and he realized too slow as he felt sharp teeth close around his hand. The impact sent waves of paralysis through his entire body, preventing him from moving while the vampire drew blood.

Raymesis let out a small cry of alarm as he saw Mr. Dark was in a similar state; bitten by a second vampire. The cloaked entity was frozen shock-still, and his eyes were wide and panic-stricken as a vampire had a tight hold on his hidden neck. After a few seconds, he felt the vampire release its fangs from Raymesis' hand. The vampire looked straight into his eyes with a look of pure satisfaction then shoved Raymesis backwards out of the cave. Raymesis only saw the setting sun as he fell, down, down, until he hit the ground with a painful crash.


	3. The Vampires: The Snoring Tree

Athier did not sleep. True, he was exhausted, but he could not forget the sound of his cousin's voice as he died. Hearing his family stir meant it was nighttime, and they could freely roam this new land they had discovered. Athier rose, feeling stiffness in his wings and back. A cave floor was not particularly where he liked to sleep. When he looked to the cave entrance, he was greeted by his brother, Feyrit Bronze-Heart, and Scurl's brother, Skron, who was also Feyrit's cousin. The two had appeared to have just eaten, as they were licking their fangs and had a look of pure satisfaction on their faces.

"Brother? Had you been up before the others? You appear fed." Athier called out to him. Feyrit turned to look at Athier with a half-smug look.

"Oh, yes, Athier. Two fellows wandered into our cave in the early hours of the night. They were saying things that I did not hear, but I couldn't help myself. I bit the scrawny one, while Skron bit the one in the big, fluffy cloak. T'was fitting of a meal, if I do say so myself." He responded.

"How DARE you feed yourself!" Cried a female voice from the ceiling. Athier looked up and saw the largest bat on the ceiling swoop down and become a column of black smoke. When she reappeared, a beautiful vampire with the figure of one of the legendary nymphs was staring Feyrit in the face with her slit, red eyes, fangs bared, and large wings flared. Skron stood awkwardly off to the side, not looking guilty at all. "We are a clan! We share blood! We don't eat separately, we only eat when we know there will be enough for everyone else! This is a tradition, Feyrit, and you have scorned it!" The female vampire spoke harshly, fierceness in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Mother Susanne, I couldn't control my hunger!" Feyrit exclaimed, shrinking down in the Vampire Queen's presence. Skron said nothing, but returned to Scurl as if nothing happened. Athier couldn't help but feel disgusted at what a shameless vampire he was. He had no honor whatsoever. Susanne stared a few moments longer before calming down noticeably. "I-I suppose you are right. I apologize. We've lost so many, it's becoming hard for me to tell wrong from right anymore." Susanne sighed.

"Do not blame yourself, my lady. None of their deaths are fault of yours." Spoke another bat who swooped down and reformed next to Susanne. Athier recognized his royal outfit instantly._ Paiva Fellroth the Vampire Prince. The very last of the Fellroth Vampire Clan from the west. _Athier thought.

"Paiva, I know. It gets hard not to blame yourself after the events seem so grim." Susanne whispered. Paiva shook his head.

"They would not want you to give up, my lady. We are to survive, I promise you." Paiva said in a reassuring tone. Susanne smiled in disbelief and said no more. Feyrit's drooping ears slowly perked back up as he left her presence to join Athier and Nastasi.

"What did you bite? What did he look like?" Nastasi asked curiously.

"Well, he kinda had the face of a Bitebark, but otherwise just weird. He had purple hair, yellow eyes, purplish-white skin, and he wore a blue jacket with a white ring on it. The weirdest thing was he didn't have arms or legs! Not even a neck! His hands, feet, and head just kinda floated there!" Feyrit explained, awe in his voice.

"No neck? How did you bite him?" Athier questioned.

"I had to bite his hand." Feyrit responded, looking off into the depths of the cave. Talking with his closest relatives made Athier feel better. He had almost forgotten about the death of Rutwik completely, although the memory would forever remain in his heart.

"That's so weird. Did his blood taste good?" Nastasi asked curiously. "Not like any I've ever tasted." Feyrit said, shaking his head.

"Fellas! Fellas! Guess what!" Cried a voice coming towards them. Athier looked around and saw a very small bat flapping wildly toward him. It was definitely Gafton the Steel-Fang judging by his size. Gafton was the tiniest vampire in the family. He and his sister Gavilla both were born as runts. Everyone was surprised they actually survived. "Me and Gavilla are allowed to go out and scout the tree out there! We think we saw lights around it, and we're gonna see if there's anyone there! And if there is, we get to bite 'em!" Gafton exclaimed, flapping rapidly.

"Okay, what does this have to do with us?" Athier asked, raising one eyebrow.

"You three get to come! Susanne said we can bring three of our closest cousins, and that's you guys!" Gafton shouted, not appearing to be getting tired, even after all that energy being virtually wasted.

"Oh?" Athier mused, cocking his head and pricking his ears. "Bite them?" Athier said with pure, unmistakable interest. Athier hadn't bitten anything that was worth his time in quite some time. In fact, most of the prey the clan had been finding and eating was the blood of mice which took at least seven mice satisfy, or things that had been dead for goodness knows how long. Having to chase down and sink his fangs into something _alive_ sounded exciting.

"We'll-we'll come with you guys..." Nastasi said, hunger penetrating any other expression she had tried to mask it with. Gafton smiled, showing off long, unusually pointed fangs that looked like the tips of thin mountains. _Gafton the steel-fang they call him_. Athier thought, running his tongue over his own fangs, feeling how wide and bulky they were compared to how Gafton's might feel. They were sharp, but not exactly thin.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's get it on!" Feyrit exclaimed, already turned into his sly-looking bat form. His voice came so sudden it made Athier bite his own tongue. The taste of his own blood was unbearable, and he spat the black substance on the ground and watch it burn a small hole into the cave floor with its acid-like potency.

With a small shudder, Athier became a bat, just as the others had done.

"Sister!" Gafton shrieked. In a moment or two, Gavilla the Cosmic appeared virtually out of nowhere.

"I'm here! I'm here, Gafton! Are we going? You got your cousins?" Gavilla panted, her eyes wide.

"Sister! We're gonna go now. Come on!" Gafton shouted, slightly impatiently.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay." Gavilla said, becoming a bat, flapping around madly like her brother.

"Onwards!" Gafton shouted, hurling himself out of the cave and into the night. The other followed. Athier couldn't help but notice Feyrit try to glance downwards at the base of the cave, perhaps to see if his prey survived his bite or not. Judging by Feyrit's small growl of frustration, he couldn't tell if it was still there or not. Athier himself wanted to see what Feyrit had bitten, but with luck, they would find creatures like it in this tree. Athier banked higher to join the others. He had always been taught to never fly too close to the ground. The others insisted that it wasn't safe.

"Hey, Athier! Look up!" Nastasi cried out. Athier looked up only to see the stars here were much different. There were visible constellations and auroras of a light blue streaked the sky. It was nothing like the sky in the Bitebark old territory. It was so vibrant and animate, like the constellations could come to life.

Nastasi laughed. "Athier, you're a vampire. Stop being so sentimental over the _sky_!" Athier's sister said sarcastically. Athier stared a moment longer before pulling his gaze away from the stars only to see Feyrit staring at him in shock.

"Athier...your eyes...they were _glowing_!" Feyrit said, keeping his voice low so that the others couldn't hear him.

"Glowing?" Athier echoed, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah! They weren't red either, they were totally blue! Your eyes turned _blue_!" Feyrit exclaimed. Athier's heart skipped a beat.

"Are-are they red now?" Athier asked, his voice shuddering slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah, they are. But that was weird!" Feyrit said, his mouth agape, his silvery fangs reflecting moonlight.

"It was probably a reflection of the stars on them." Athier said, settling down a bit. Feyrit did the same.

"Yeah. Yeah ok. Oh, and watch your wingbeats. They were kind of out of time while you were staring." Feyrit sighed, flapping off. Athier's ears drooped slightly. Athier sighed, flapping his wings at a faster pace to catch up with the others.

"It's just a little ways away. Just a few hundred more wingbeats." Gavilla squeaked.

"More like half a million for you." Nastasi whispered in Athier's ear, keeping a close eye on Gavilla's rapidly fluttering wings.

"We're vampire bats, not hummingbirds." Athier chuckled. The rest of the trip was carried out in silence, although the whole time, Feyrit kept a very close eye on Athier.

"Guys! Perch right where I am!" Gafton cried out in bat squeaks to keep their presence hidden. Feyrit and Nastasi landed, gripping the bark with their claws while Athier nearly crashed into the branch face-first.

"S-sorry." Athier apologized, his eyes darting all over the trunk of the tree, looking for signs of danger. The tree was a lot large up close, giving no excuse for why something wouldn't want to live here.

"Okay, guys. See that hole in the tree right over there?" Gafton whispered, pointing a tattering wing in the direction of a window. Athier strained his ears, but he heard no sign of anything. _They must be somewhere else inside_. Athier reassured himself. "That's where we're going in. You all ready? Athier and Nastasi, you guys go in first. I'll follow, then after me, Gavilla and Feyrit go in." Gafton explained, making unnecessary planning gestures with his wings.

Athier nodded, then sent a glance to his sister, who returned his gaze. "If you guys get into any trouble-" Gafton began.

"No, no. We won't we're vampires. There's nothing we can't handle." Nastasi cut him off, sounding slightly overconfident.

"Hello, hello, friends!" Interrupted a familiar voice.

"Oh no." Said the small brood simultaneously. _Scurl_. Athier thought with resentment. "Just thought I'd drop by. After all, what is the intellect of sending immature vampires to explore a tree without someone who is sophisticated watching over them? I'm here to join you all." Scurl said, puffing up his chest with self-absorbed dignity and pricking his ears.

"What? No! This is our thing. We don't want some snooty, stuck-up old bat like yourself slowing us down!" Gavilla exclaimed. Scurl frowned.

"I am the most important vampire in the clan besides our mother Susanne. You naive little children are far too obtuse to understand such a thing. Like it or not, I will be joining you." Scurl snarled, glowering at Gavilla.

"Humph. Fine. Go with Athier and Nastasi." Gavilla huffed, crossing her wings with discontentment. Scurl smiled smugly, displaying two cracked fangs and rows of sharp teeth. Athier was first to spread his wings and glide gracefully into the window. He instinctively knew that dropping straight down would be too noisy, so he glided to the other end of the hall and used his claws to scratch down the wall and silently reach the ground. Scurl and Nastasi followed next, then Gafton and Gavilla.

As soon as each of the bats had made it inside, they all simultaneously transformed into their true forms.

"Which way do we go first?" Whispered Nastasi. Athier looked around.

"To be safe, we should all stick together and go this way." Athier said, starting to creep forward, keeping every step soundless. The others followed close behind. Athier kept completely cautious, straining his ears for the smallest sound and making sure the ground he was walking upon wouldn't creak when he took the next step. The others were doing an adequate job of doing what he was doing. The only one Athier genuinely worried about was Scurl. For some reason, Scurl thought he was as silent as an owl, although in reality, he was actually making all kinds of racket. Most of the Clan thought he was tone deaf or something. Luckily, Scurl must have gained a small amount of common sense. Just enough to make him tread lighter, which was good. This was going a lot better than Athier had thought it would.

Then, everyone froze dead in their tracks with their ears twitching. _Footsteps in the tree. Definitely not one of us. Something, some_one_ else. Approaching...they're approaching..._Athier thought quickly. His eyes darted from each of his family members around him. Feyrit had his fangs bared, Gavilla and Gafton looked confused, Nastasi appeared as Athier probably did, and Scurl? He was looking way too overconfident. It took massive self-control in order to stop yourself from jumping up and smacking that smug look right off his prettied-up face. Then, the creature came into view. A weird-looking thing, nothing Athier had ever seen before. It was wearing a purple tunic with a green and yellow king's coat as well as a crown; probably royalty, and it had a long nose, cyan-colored skin, and black beady eyes. At first it didn't see them, giving a very small window to attack... or to flee. Athier was ready to act, but the others were frozen shock-still with bewilderment.

Then, the creature saw them and it froze. Nobody could move. Athier expected the creature to turn around and escape, but instead, it held its hands above its head, called out something then sent a wave of purple magic flying towards the group of vampires. Gafton and Gavilla acted immediately, transforming into bats and hovering just above the ground while Athier, Scurl, Feyrit and Nastasi were caught in a magic snare. As soon as the creature saw he had trapped them, he let out a small, half-scared half-victorious yelp, then scurried off. Athier let out a bark of frustration while Feyrit and Scurl let out furious hisses of anger. Nastasi had almost acted as quick as Gafton and Gavilla, as she was only half trapped in the snare. With clever maneuvering, she wriggled free and joined Gavilla and Gafton as a bat.

"Go! Go get help!" Athier called out.

"O-Okay, Athier! We'll send Vasu to come get you tomorrow night! The sun will rise before she gets here, so just hang in there, we promise we'll help you get out!" Gafton called out to them before flying out the window they had came along with Nastasi and Gavilla.

"Did he say they're sending Vasu? The bat princess?" Scurl asked.

"Yes." Athier huffed, attempting to find a way out of the snare.

"Ahh, yes. The striking Vasu. She is quite the beauty, isn't she?" Scurl said, a wistful expression gathering in his red eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Would you help us out?" Feyrit asked impatiently. Scurl didn't speak again, but instead let out a snort of annoyance. "I'll take that as a no." Feyrit scowled.

"Shh! Someone's coming!" Athier exclaimed. Feyrit shut his mouth so quickly you could hear his teeth click against one another. A few moments passed before Athier saw the same creature from before peek his head from around the corner, then retreat back in fear. Then Athier saw another creature walk into the open, looking a lot less scared than the first creature. In fact, this creature was _smiling_.

He had a ginger-brown colored hair, a maroon jacket with a red hood and white ring printed on it, yellow shoes, and white gloves. The weirdest thing Athier noticed about him, was his lack of arms, legs, and a neck. His hands, feet, and head floated out in the open air, obviously not independent from his body. Feyrit gasped.

"What? What is it, brother?" Athier asked Feyrit, a little startled.

"That-that creature! He looks almost exactly like the one I bit earlier! He's just...colored differently!" Feyrit hissed, his eyes wide.

"Really? Wow, you weren't kidding about it not having arms or legs..." Athier said, tilting his head.

Once the creature looked towards the vampires trapped on the floor, his smile disappeared. Athier's ears flattened. The creature didn't take his eyes off them while he turned his head slightly and called out, probably to the other creature. Instead of just one of the long-nosed creatures appearing, nearly ten had appeared, all wearing different clothes. One had a kings coat with fire printed on it, another was wearing a Merlin coat and hat, they all were just the most colorful group Athier had ever seen. He was used to living with a family of black cape wearing, pale-skinned vampires. The creature stared for a moment, before slowly advancing forward.

The king creature with the green coat stayed behind the limbless creature, looking very afraid; something Athier could easily recognize. Once the creature was within just three feet of the vampires, he stopped. While the creature stared, he said nothing, although the other creatures behind him were whispering curiously and staring at the vampires with their beady black eyes that did not show signs of hostility. Athier was surprised at how Scurl handled this. He was completely silent. Surely by now he would be spitting insults and hissing a fit. Sensing no aggression, Athier sent a stone-cold stare directly back into the eyes of the creature.

"What...what are you?" The creature finally asked.

"We're...we're..." Feyrit began.

"Vampires." Athier spoke firmly. As soon as the word parted his lips, two of the creatures with cyan skin backed away a few steps. The rest appeared confused. The creature who spoke did not change his expression very much at all. Athier was startled. Usually, when creatures find out about their vampiric blood, they run away in horror. A vampire was not particularly the best house visitor to find creeping around. Most of the time, it was the correct action for them to take, making feeding a lot harder than it should be. Thinking this way sent a stab of regret through Athier's heart like a wooden stake. They were here to feed, and Athier just told them they were vampires. Such a stupid thing to do.

"Vampires? What's...what's a vampire?" The limbless creature asked, looking wholeheartedly puzzled. Athier could feel Scurl and Feyrit let out very small sighs of relief. These creatures didn't even know what a vampire was.

"N-nothing. We're just lost." Athier said, sweeping his eyes over the expressions of all the creatures in the room. The creature's smile returned.

"Oh. Well, I'm Rayman. These are the Teensies." Rayman introduced, gesturing towards the cyan-skinned creatures behind him. "Grand Minimus, I assume you have something you want to say?" Rayman asked the Teensy behind him. Grand Minimus stepped forward.

"Yeah...I'm sorry for trapping you..." He groaned, looking very uneasy around the vampires as he lifted a finger and the snare disappeared.

"My name is Athier the Younger. This is Feyrit Bronze-Heart, and the shriveled up one is Scurl the Grand." Athier spoke, gesturing with a slight nod to both of them. Scurl glowered at Athier's remark. Once the Vampires rose to full height, Athier was slightly amused at how much taller he was compared to the cyan-skinned creatures. Rayman was about the same height as he was, which was a little confusing.

"Well, this is the Snoring Tree. You can stay here as long as you need to." Rayman said friendlily.

"Until tomorrow's sunset." Feyrit chimed in.

"Okay, well...uh...you can sleep..." Rayman began.

"That's alright, we're nocturnal." Athier interrupted.

"Oh, alrighty. C'mon, Teensies. Off to bed with you." Rayman said, herding the Teensies back to their rooms.

"Dismissive, isn't he? We could have said that we planned to drain the blood out of each and every one of those things and he would have said okay." Athier said, crossing his arms.

"Guys, I have a plan. Tomorrow night, when Vasu comes, we bite 'em. I think there might be too many to bite _all_ of those things and whatever _else_ lives here, but once we do, we can get out, bring the clan back, and get our family name back." Feyrit explained, his red eyes burning with anticipation.

"That could work, and tonight, we get to know this place like the tip of our fangs." Scurl said, fluffing his coat up a bit.

"All right, brother and cousin, let's get going then to know who's blood we'll be feasting upon!" Feyrit said, heading off into the depths of the tree, with Scurl following behind. Athier lagged behind for a moment. _Bite them all?_ Athier thought, remembering the smile on Rayman's face and how welcoming he was. _Such thoughts aren't normal for a vampire...are they?_


End file.
